Net Worth Update: April 2009 (+$3,728)

Baby steps, right?

I admittedly spent a lot of money in March but, at the same time, I also managed to keep things moving in the right direction in all of the areas that I’m concerned about — cash, savings, and mortgage.

The first two are on the up-and-up and that last one is falling — just what I like to see. Once I have my spending in check, all three should show some improvement. Still, it was a good month.

I’m also starting to notice how very dependent my net worth is on the markets. (BFO Alert!)

That’s something that I didn’t realize over all of those months that I spent on debt-payment auto-pilot in 2007 and 2008.

I truly thought my dropping credit card and auto loan balances were driving my growing net worth but, in reality, they were just a tiny slice.

My 401k and the equity in my home are the big movers-and-shakers each and every month. They’re what determines whether I have an up month or a down month.

I’m not sure I like that as I have little control over either of them.

Anyway, here’s my analysis broken down for the month:

Cash:
I’ve been trying to boost this to the point where $5000 is the lowest my balance will ever get and I suppose I can say that I made a little progress in that goal but not nearly enough. I need to cut my spending drastically to make that happen.

Savings:
If you follow my finances, I obviously took it easy this month. After month after month of 4-figure gains and *finally* reaching the $10k mark, I only mustered a $348 increase last month. Combined with the dropping interest rates, savings just isn’t as exciting as it used to be.

Gov’t Bonds:
At the time, I was told that these were a bad investment. Right now they’re earning 6.45%. It’s a shame that I have so little in there earning that rate.

401k:
Thank you Mr. Geithner. He gets all of the credit for the increase here. I’m not saying that I agree with the moves he’s made but, so far, they’ve definitely lined my pockets — in the pants that I apparently can’t touch for another 28 years.

Home:
Yeah, the value fell some more this month but I still think things have stabilized. Either way, I’m not worried about it. I’m no where near being underwater, I’m not looking to sell anytime soon either, and I only get the itch to refinance once in a great while (and I’ve never actually done it).

Auto 1 & Auto 2:
Blah, blah, blah… Nothing to report here.

Credit Cards:
Still at a zero balance though I did have a little drama this past month with my Citi card. Yes, I’m still upset that $1.87.

Auto Loan:
Nothing to report.

Other Loans:
Another goose egg.

Mortgage:
So in January I knocked $470 off the balance. In February, it was $472 off the balance. This past month, I chipped away $700. Yep, I’ve resorted back to tackling the mortgage again.

Seeing as I’ve all but given up the idea of doing a major renovation this year — partly because of the baby due next month but also because my gut tells me that I should hold on to that $10k in savings — I was instead thinking that attacking the mortgage would be the wisest financial move at this point.

My rate (6.375%) isn’t as great as I once thought it was, I’m still paying PMI, and I hate my lender.

I can’t think of 3 better reasons to just pay the darn thing off as fast as I can.